Apparatus for the wet-treatment of loose fibrous stock



March 3, 1970 H. FLEISSNER 3,498,088

APPARATUS FOR THE WET-TREATMENT OF LOOSE FIBROUS STOCK Filed March 13,1968 Fig./

lnrenlar: hemz He/ssner Affome s United States Patent 3 498 088APPARATUS FOR THE WET-TREATMENT 0F LOOSE FlBROUS STOCK Heinz Fleissner,Egelsbach, near Frankfurt am Main, Ger-' many, assignor to VEPA A.G.,Basel, Switzerland Filed Mar. 13, 1968, Ser. No. 712,733 Claimspriority, application Geirmany, Apr. 26, 1967,

Int. Cl. D061 59/02, 17/02 US. CI. 6822 17 Claims ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE viding a surface for conveying the fibrous stock from the,

first treatment bowl to the second treatment bowl thereby changing thedirection of material passage.

Background of the invention The present invention relates to anapparatus for the wet-treatment of loose fibrous stock, and particularlyto an apparatus for scouring raw wool. The apparatus of the presentinvention comprises several bowls through which the fibrous material iscontinuously passed and a perforated conveying element rotatablydisposed at the end of said bowls which provides a surface for conveyingthe fibrous stock from one bowl to another bowl thereby changing thedirection of material passage.

The well known raw wool scouring devices generally comprise about fourto five treatment bowls. The first bowl serves for wetting the wool andgenerally contains only sodium carbonate or other wetting agents, but nodetergent. The following two or three bowls serve for scouring the wool.In these bowls the dirt is detached from the wool and in addition thewool is degreased. The last bowl is used for rinsing. Between theindividual bowls, squeezers are arranged. Instead of squeezers, vacuumextraction devices may also be employed to dehydrate the wool when it ispassed from one bowl to the next bowl.

In the well known raw wool scouring machines, the individual bowls arearranged in one line one behind the other, and the wool is generallytransported through the bowl by means of rakes or harrows. Since onebowl is about five to seven meters long and since a hopper feeder isgenerally set up in front of the bowls and a drier behind the bowls,such a plant requires a substantial amount of space. In many cases it isdifficult to install such a scouring machine because of its length.

It has also been suggested and attempted to use shorter bowls. However,it has been found that the scouring elfect was not as good and that thetop-to-noil ratio increased considerably because the reaction time wascorrespondingly shortened as well as the time during which the dirtcould detach from the wool.

Summary of the invention An object of the present invention is to avoidthe prior art disadvantages in the wet-treatment of loose fibrous stock.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improvedapparatus for the wet-treatment of loose fibrous stock, particularly forscouring raw wool wherein effective use can 'be made of shortertreatment bowls.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an improvedscouring apparatus which has a considerably shorter over-all length whencompared to the prior art treatment devices.

Other objects and further scope of applicability of the presentinvention will become apparent from the detailed description givenhereinafter; it should be understood, however, that the detaileddescription and specific examples, while indicating preferredembodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only,since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope ofthe invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from thisdetailed description.

Pursuant to the present invention, it has been found that theabove-mentioned disadvantages may be eliminated and a much improvedapparatus for the wet-treatment of loose fibrous stock may be obtainedby arranging at least two treatment bowls side by side, and by providinga device which transports the loose fibrous stock from one bowl into thenext bowl thereby changing the direction of material passage. If thetreatment plant contains four bowls, for example, it is now possible toarrange two bowls each one behind the other and to arrange the other twobowls at the side of the first two bowls. However, it is also possibleto arrange more than two bowls side by side and to provide at the pointof material passage a device which conveys the material from one bowlinto the next bowl.

It is desirable if the device for conveying the loose fibrous stock fromone bowl into the next bowl is rotatably disposed at the end of thetreatment bowls and comprises a continuous conveying element which atleast partially extends into the treatment bath of both of the treatmentbowls thereby providing a surface for conveying the fibrous stock fromone treatment bowl to the other treatment bowl with a resulting changein the direction of material passage. The immersed portion of thec0nveying element in the first treatment bowl is subjected to a suctiondraft so that a uniform fleece is formed on the conveying element. Atthe same time, the treatment liquor which is drawn to the conveyingelement as a result of the suction draft may be returned into thetreatment bowl at its inlet, so that a flow in the direction of materialpassage is produced in the bowl. As a result of this flow, the loosefibrous stock may be guided from the inlet of the apparatus to theoutlet thereof by freely floating. Alternately or in conjunctiontherewith, the transportation of the loose stock may be aided byadditional conveying means, for example a paddle roller or a perforateddrum through which the liquid flows, and the like.

It is particularly advantageous to arrange two bowls side by side and toseparate them from each other by only one partition means so that onecontainer wall can be eliminated. With this particular construction theconveying element can be readily passed beneath the level of the liquorfrom one bowl to the next adjacent bowl by providing in the partitionmeans which separates the two bowls from each other a slit-shapedopening which substantially corresponds to the cross section of theconveying element and through which the conveying element may be passedfrom one bowl into the next bowl.

According to another feature of the present invention, aliquid-permeable disk, for example a perforated disk can be used as theconveying element. This disk is arranged obliquely so that one portionthereof immerses in the treatment liquor of the two adjacent bowls. Sucha disk can be produced very easily and inexpensively. Also, the bearingand drive for this rotating disk may be readily provided by means of aconcentrically arranged axis.

Underneath the immersed portion of the disk at the discharge end of thefirst bowl a suction box may be (disposed which subjects this portion ofthe disk to a sucnion draft. At the immersed portion of the disk in the:second bowl a corresponding box may be arranged. This :suction boxreturns to the second bowl the liquor which is removed from thedischarge element disposed a! the (discharge end of the second bowl. Bythe upward liquor flow through the disk, the loose fibrous stock issafely ifioated away from the disk so that it forms a uniform ifleece inthe second bowl.

lln order to dehydrate the loose fibrous stock when passing it from onebowl to the next bowl it is desirable to correlate to the conveyingelement, for example the perforated disk, a dehydration device, forexample a squeezer or a vacuum extractor. The vacuum extractor may be asuction box or a suction slit which is arranged beneath the perforateddisk outside the two adjacent bowls. When using squeeze rollers it issuggested to design these rollers in the form of a truncated cone, inorder to permit a constant conveying speed and a gentle squeezing of thematerial on the perforated disk.

Brief description of the drawings The present invention will become morefully understood from the detailed description given hereinbelow and theaccompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only andthus are not limitative of the present invention and wherein,

FIGURE 1 is a longitudinal section of a treatment bowl with a device forconveying the material to another treatment bowl according to thepresent invention; and

FIGURE 2 is a plan view of the apparatus according to FIGURE 1.

Description of the preferred embodiments Referring now to the drawingswherein like reference numerals are used throughout the various views todesignate like parts, the apparatus of the present invention comprises aconveyor belt 1 for feeding the loose fibrous stock 2 to a liquidcontainer 3. The liquid container contains two bowls 4 and 5 subdividedby a perforated intermediate bottom 6 into an upper treatment zone 7 andinto a lower dirt sediment zone 8. Near the inlet of bowl 4 a paddleroller 9 is provided for immersing the loose fibrous material in thetreatment liquor. At the discharge end of the bowl a perforated disk 10is arranged which partially immerses in the treatment liquor. Underneaththe portion of the disk 10 which is immersed in the bowl 4 a suction box11 is disposed. The liquid which is drawn into the suction box isreturned by circulating pump means and conduit means 21 into thetreatment bowl 4- through a perforated partition 12 at the inlet of thebowl. The perforated partition 12 serves for the equilization and/or forthe uniform return and distribution of the liquor over the entireworking width. The suction box 11 subjects that portion of disk 10immersed in the treatment bowl to a suction draft so that the fibrousstock 2 is floated and/or drawn to the disk 10 as a uniform fleece.

The disk 10 may be driven by means of a squeezer 13 which has squeezerollers in the form of a truncated cone. By means of the squeezer 13 theloose fibrous stock is dehydrated and the liquor which is squeezed outof the stock is also returned to the bowl at the inlet. By means of therotating disk 10 the loose fibrous stock is conveyed into an adjacentbowl 5. A similar box (not shown) is arranged underneath that portion ofthe disk 10 which is immersed in the liquor bowl 5. The treatment liquorflows out of disk 10 and floats the loose fibrous stock away from saiddisk. At the end of bowl 5 a sieve drum 15 subjected to a suction draftis arranged as a discharge element. The liquid drawn in by this drum isreturned to bowl 5 underneath disk 10 by suction pump 22 and conduitmeans 23, so that in this bowl there is also a liquid flow in thedirection of material passage. Behind the sieve drum 15 a squeezer 16 isinstalled. Another treatment bowl 17 may follow treatment bowl 5. Thedisk 10 projects into bowls 4 and 5 beneath the liquor level through aslit 19 in a joint partition means 18 of bowls 4 and 5. Instead of adisk, one or several conveyor belts may also be used for conveying thematerial from one bowl into an adjacent bowl.

The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same maybe varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as adeparture from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all suchmodifications are intended to be included within the scope of thefollowing claims.

It is claimed:

1. An apparatus for the wet-treatment of loose fibrous stock whichcomprises at least first and second treatment bowls which are arrangedside by side, said treatment bowls containing a treatment bath, meansfor introducing the fibrous stock into the first treatment bowl, aperforated conveying element rotatably disposed at the end of thetreatment bowls, a portion of said conveying element extending into thetreatment bath of both of the treatment bowls and providing a surfacefor conveying the fibrous stock from the first treatment bowl to thesecond treatment bowl thereby changing the direction of the materialpassage.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the perforated conveying element isa perforated disk means which is obliquely arranged so that a portionthereof immerses in the treatment bath of the two adjacent bowls.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the perforated disk means is drivenby squeezer means which is provided with squeeze rollers disposed onboth sides of said disk means, said squeeze rollers substantiallydehydrating the loose fibrous stock being conveyed on said disk means.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the squeeze rollers are in the formof a truncated cone.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a suction means is disposed belowthe immersed portion of the perforated conveying element in the firsttreatment bowl thereby subjecting said conveying element to a suctiondraft.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein means are provided for returningthe treatment liquor drawn to the perforated conveying element to thefirst treatment bowl at the inlet thereof thereby producing in the bowla flow in the direction of material passage.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a paddle roller is provided in thetreatment bath of the first treatment bowl near the inlet, said paddleroller immersing the loose fibrous material in the treatment liquor andfacilitating the transportation of said material in the bath.

8. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein a sieve drum means subjected to asuction draft is disposed in the second treatment bath as a dischargeelement.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein a squeezer means is provided behindthe sieve drum means.

10. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the side by side treatment bowlsare separated by onl one partition means.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein at the end of the treatment bowlsthe partition means is provided'with a split-shaped opening whichextends below the surface of the treatment bath and substantiallycorresponds to the cross section of the disk means and through whichsaid disk means passes from one treatment bowl into the adja centtreatment bowl.

12. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein a suction means is disposed belowthe immersed portion of the perforated conveying element in the secondtreatment bowl, said suction means returning into the bowl the liquorremoved from the discharge element.

13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first and second treatmentbowls are subdivided by a perforated in termediate bottom into an uppertreatment Zone and a lower dirt sediment zone.

14. An apparatus for the wet-treatment of loose fibrous stock whichcomprises at least first and second treatment bowls which are arrangedside by side, said treatment bowls containing a treatment bath, meansfor introducing the fibrous stock into the first treatment bowl, aperforated disk means rotatably disposed at the end of the treatmentbowls and obliquely arranged so that a portion thereof immerses in thetreatment bath of the two adjacent bowls providing a surface forconveying the fibrous stock from the first treatment bowl to the secondtreatment bowl thereby changing the direction of material passage, andsuction box means disposed below the immersed portion of the perforateddisk means in the first treatment bowl to subject said disk means to asuction draft, and below said disk means in the second treatment bowl toreturn the treatment liquor to the second treatment bowl.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the side by side treatment bowlsare separated by a partition means and wherein at the end of thetreatment bowls said partition means is provided with a split-shapedopening which extends below the surface of the treatment bath andsubstantially corresponds to the cross section of the disk means andthrough which said disk means passes from one treatment bowl into theadjacent treatment bowl.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein a sieve drum means subjected to asuction draft is disposed in the second treatment bath as a dischargeelement, and means are provided for returning the liquor drawn in by thesieve drum to the second treatment bowl via the suction box disposedbelow the perforated disk means in said second treatment bowl.

'17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein a perforated partition means isdisposed in the first treatment bowl at the inlet, and means areprovided for returning the treatment liquor drawn into the suction boxfrom the first treatment bowl, back into said treatment bowl throughsaid perforated partition means. i

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 663,452 12/1900 Maertens 68l58 X1,431,553 10/1922 Wickey 68158 FOREIGN PATENTS 368,892 3/1932 GreatBritain.

WILLIAM I. PRICE, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 6827, 158, 184

